1/3/2024: Blame the Pig
PLUS: “Sexy Healthy Cooking”; Renner Returns; and Fergie’s Back
Today is Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
It is the 3rd day of the year.
363 days remain.
WHAT’S ON TAP
A brief reprieve for SAM BANKMAN-FRIED and a creepy new twist on TikTok. Details in HIT LIST.
TOM BRADY almost “unretired” again and IAN ZIERING gets assaulted by a group of bikers in L.A. More in SHOWBIZ.
The Top 10 highest-grossing movies of 2023 are revealed. Details in CASTING CALL.
Has YE turned over a new leaf? Find out more in KARDASH.
The Duchess of York re-enters the Royal fold in ROYALS.
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HIT LIST
As SAM BANKMAN-FRIED awaits March sentencing for his fraud and money laundering conviction last year, he has one less thing to worry about: Prosecutors say they will not try him separately for six federal campaign finance violations committed using stolen customer funds.
A Department of Justice filing argues that given federal sentencing guidelines, it’s unlikely another batch of convictions would even add any time to his stint in prison, which already could likely be the rest of his life. Details of that sentence will be announced in March. [via Reuters]
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SHMOLLEGE: An emerging trend shows young men rejecting the college degree path over the last decade.
College enrollment among Hispanic men fell from 42% in 2011 to 33% in 2022. White men also saw a decline from 49% in 2011 to 40% in 2022. Overall, colleges showed 1.2 fewer enrollees between 2011 and 2022. [via Newsweek]
MEANWHILE, IN LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN: The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents fired the outgoing Chancellor of UW-La Crosse last week, after he was busted for running a paid porn site featuring his wife and pornstars. On their “Sexy Healthy Cooking” Youtube channel, the couple prepares vegan meals with the adult-film actors before, apparently, heading to the bedroom to get their freak on.
Gow maintains his First Amendment rights should insulate him from any dismissal. He was already scheduled to transition out of the Chancellorship and into a faculty role over the summer. Gow says he’s considering a lawsuit.
WORTH NOTING: While your humble co-editors each have a degree from UW-L, we promise the only content we’ll ever ask you to pay for is our writing. [via Morning Martini]
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TIKTOK users have noticed a weird new quirk on the app that requires them to occasionally enter their phone passwords to view certain videos.
TO BE CLEAR: This isn’t the password to login to their account; the app asks for the numeric passcode, usually four digits, that people use to unlock their devices.
WORTH REMEMBERING: The app’s parent company, which is all but a formal extension of the Chinese Communist Party, late last year admitted that the app was used to spy on American journalists.
WORTH NOTING: A rep for TikTok says that this “bug” has been resolved through an app update. [via New York Post]
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A newly-opened New Jersey-based restaurant is home to the largest tequila collection on Earth.
Meximodo serves over 1,000 different types of agave-derived liquor, which have either a spicy or smoky taste.
The world record had been about 600 bottles, which has now been left in the dust. [via Fox News]
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A Pittsburgh-area family blames their pet pig for starting a house fire that destroyed their home on New Years Eve.
Owner Margaret Painter tells local media that she brought extra hay for Albert, their pot-bellied pig, to help him keep warm. One way or another, the pig knocked that extra hay onto a heat lamp, which caught fire and quickly spread across their house. The blaze got so bad that windows exploded.
Fortunately, everyone escaped unharmed, though two of their five cats died. Albert the pig suffered burns. [via WTAE]
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DEATHS
Actor LEE SUN-KYUN has died.
He was found in a car in Seoul on December 27 following a police investigation into his alleged drug use. Officers had been searching for him after he was reported missing earlier in the day by his family. An official cause of death has not been shared.
Sun-kyun is best known for his role in “Parasite.”
He was only 48
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Reclusive engineer GASTON GLOCK has died.
He passed away December 27, according to the Glock company.
Glock, who founded the Austrian-based company in 1963, was behind the development of the handgun that bears his name.
He was 94.
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Comedian TOM SMOTHERS has died.
He passed away on December 26 in Santa Rosa, California after a battle with cancer.
Smothers was one half of the iconic duo the Smothers Brothers, alongside younger brother DICK SMOTHERS.
He was 86.
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Actor RICHARD ROMANUS has died.
He passed away on December 23 at a hospital in Volos, Greece, according to a statement from his son. No cause of death was shared.
Romanus is best known for his roles in “The Sopranos,” “Mean Streets,” and “Heavy Metal.”
He was 80.
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Actor TOM WILKINSON has died.
He passed away at his home in England, Saturday. No cause of death was shared, though a statement from his family called his death “sudden.”
Wilkinson is best known for his roles in “The Full Monty” and “Batman Begins.”
He was 75.
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Race car driver GIL DE FERRAN has died.
He passed away last Friday after suffering a heart attack while at a private motorsport club in Opa Locka, Florida. He was reportedly racing his son at the time.
Ferran was only 56.
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TV personality BOBBY RIVERS has died.
He passed away on December 26 in Minneapolis, according to a Facebook post from his sister. No word on a cause of death.
Rivers is best known for his work on the Food Network and VH1.
He was 70.
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BABY NEWS
Country singer KANE BROWN and his wife KATELYN BROWN are expecting baby #3.
The couple announced the news on Instagram, sharing a photo of them with their daughters 2-year-old Kodi Jane and 4-year-old Kingsley Rose, who is holding up a sonogram.
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BREAKUPS
Country singer ZACH BROWN is splitting with his wife of only four months, KELLY YAZDI.
The pair announced the news in a joint statement, saying they “wish each other the best and will always appreciate [their] time together.”
No details on what happened.
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KATHY GRIFFIN has filed for divorce from her husband of four years, marketing executive RANDY BICK.
She filed last week, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The docs also list their date of separation as December 22.
No word on what caused the split.
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BACKSTREET BOYS member AJ MCLEAN and his wife ROCHELLE DEANNA MCLEAN are calling it quits after 12 years of marriage.
The pair, who have been separated for the past year, announced their decision on Instagram.
They also shared their intent to co-parent their two young daughters.
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BY THE NUMBERS
📈 The DOW increased 25 points (0.068%) to close at $37,715 on Tuesday. The S&P lost 27 points (0.57%) to close at 4,742 and the NASDAQ slid 245 points (1.63%) to close at 14,765.
🛢 WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE closed at $70; BRENT CRUDE at $75.
⛽ The national average price of a GALLON OF GAS was $3.10 on Tuesday.
₿ BITCOIN increased more than 1.4% Tuesday, trading around $44,800 on Tuesday.
🛩 There were more than 2,595 FLIGHTS delayed within, into, or out of the United States on Tuesday and more than 40 such cancellations.
💰The first POWERBALL drawing of the new year resulted in a ticket sold in Michigan matching all six numbers. The winner has the option of the $842.2 million jackpot or $425.2 million cash payout. It is the first time someone has hit the jackpot on New Year’s Day since the game’s inception in 1992. Tonight’s drawing will be for a $20 million jackpot or a $10.1 million cash payout.
SHOWBIZ NEWS
One year after his near-fatal accident with a snowplow, JEREMY RENNER returned to the Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno to visit the care staff who saved his life. He also later visited a local fire department to thank some of the first responders who were on the scene that day.
Remember, Renner miraculously survived after the snow plow at his Lake Tahoe home crushed him last New Year’s Day. The giant machine had been improperly parked and began to roll toward Renner’s nephew, when the action star jumped to the rescue, but in doing so broke over 30 bones, suffered a punctured liver and one of his eyes popped out of his skull.
Renner has made a remarkable recovery over the past year and said that the incident made him truly appreciate his life and all that he has. [via TMZ]
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What is going on with PARAMORE?
Last week the band’s website disappeared from the internet and the band nuked their verified Instagram and X accounts.
Lead singer HAYLEY WILLIAMS also removed her Instagram account, which led fans to question if the band was breaking up.
The removals come shortly after the group told UpRoxx that they have “agreed that there’s a level of uncertainty” regarding their future. [via Loudwire, UpRoxx]
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A 20-foot-tall monument of SHAKIRA now overlooks her hometown of Barranquilla, Columbia.
The statue shows the hip-shaking singer in one of her iconic belly-dancing outfits with her hips swaying to the right and her arms raised up to the sky. In a post on X, Shakira called the statue an “example of the enormous artistic talent of the people of my land.”
A plaque under the statue reads, “On February 2, 1977, the town of Barranquilla and the world witnessed the birth of a heart that composes, hips that don’t lie, a voice that moves masses and a pair of bare feet that walk for the good of children and humanity.” [via X]
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TOM BRADY almost “unretired” again this year!
The former QB made the shocking confession on Instagram, writing, “The only downside to 2023 was when I was about to unretire in May and my friends threw a surprise retirement party. Kind of forced my hand.”
Remember, Brady retired and “unretired” in 2022. [via TMZ]
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PAULA ABDUL claims former “American Idol” producer NIGEL LYTHGOE sexually assaulted her multiple times during one of the first seasons of the show, and also during her time as judge on “So You Think You Can Dance.”
She says the assaults took place on multiple occasions over the years and that Lythgoe later teased her about the incidents over the phone. As for why Abdul waited until now to speak out, she said that she feared being “blackmailed.” (No word on why she no longer fears this.)
Per the filing, she is suing him for sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, and negligence.
IN RESPONSE: Lythgoe called the claims “wholly untrue” and says he plans to fight the allegations in court. [via NY Post]
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A group of bikers in Los Angeles jumped actor IAN ZIERING over the weekend.
The incident took place on Hollywood Blvd. after a group of bikers, who were weaving in and out of traffic, reportedly struck his car. After pulling over, Ziering got out to check the damage, which caught the attention of one of the bikers who alerted others, prompting the group to start pummeling him.
IT GETS WORSE: Ziering’s young daughter reportedly witnessed the attack while inside the car.
A police report has been filed and the incident is under investigation. [via People]
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“Gangnam Style” hit 5 BILLION views on YouTube last month -- 11 years after it debuted.
The K-pop hit became a summer sensation when it dropped in 2012 thanks to PSY’s galloping and lassoing dance moves. In December of that year it became the first video to ever hit 1 BILLION views on the platform.
Today, the video is YouTube’s 11th most popular video. [via Billboard]
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CASTING CALL
2023’s Top 10 Highest-Grossing Movies at the Domestic Box Office:
10. Sound of Freedom: $184.1 million
9. John Wick: Chapter 4: $187.1 million
8. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: $214.5 million
7. Avatar: The Way of Water: $283 million (2023 only)
6. The Little Mermaid: $298.1 million
5. Oppenheimer: $326 million
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: $358.9 million
3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: $381.3 million
2. The Super Mario Bros. Movie: $574.9 million
1. Barbie: $636.2 million
[via BoxOffice Pro]
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“Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” saw a 30% increase in viewership, with about 8.4 million people tuning into the annual event.
Meanwhile, around the time the ball dropped in Times Square there were more than 22.2 million viewers -- a three-year high for the show. [via Deadline]
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For the eighth year in a row Fox News topped overall cable network rankings , averaging 1.85 million viewers in seven-day primetime. “The Five” was the most-watched show for the network, averaging 2.89 million viewers.
MSNBC was the only network to see an increase in viewership, averaging 1.22 million -- up 2% from 2022. “Alex Wagner Tonight/The Rachel Maddow Show” was the network’s most-watched show, averaging 1.61 million viewers.
CNN, meanwhile, saw a 19% drop in viewers year-over-year. The network’s most-watched show was “Anderson Cooper 360,” averaging 743,000 viewers. [via Deadline]
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CELEBRITY CELLBLOCK
Bolivian special forces arrested former Miss Bolivia ALONDRA MERCADO CAMPOS on suspicion of gun trafficking last week. She is also under investigation in a separate drug case connected to her fugitive boyfriend, Andres Vasquez.
Drug cops raided the home she shares with Vasquez and found a cache of firearms and ammunition.
Vasquez, meanwhile, has been on the run since the raid.
Mercado Campos, who is only 22, was crowned Miss Bolivia Mundo 2020 and Miss Charm Bolivia in 2023. [via NY Post]
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THE DAILY KARDASHOPUS
New Year, New YE?
Just before the end of 2023, the rapper issued an apology to the Jewish community on Instagram.
Writing the note in Hebrew, it reads, “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for any unintended outburst. I deeply regret any pain I may have caused.”
While sincere in appearance, the Daily Mail reports that Ye’s wife, BIANCA CENSORI “laid the smackdown on him” and forced him to right his wrongs.
Insiders told the publication that Censori is “tired of having to babysit” her husband, and fears he is putting them both in danger. [via Daily Mail]
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WE’LL NEVER BE ROYALS
SARAH FERGUSON re-entered the Royal fold over the holidays, joining her ex-husband PRINCE ANDREW, the King, and other members of the House of Windsor for a Christmas Day church service at Sandringham.
WORTH NOTING: The late PRINCE PHILIP reportedly detested Fergie and forbade her presence at official functions, despite spending a lot of her time living with Andrew at the Royal Lodge. [via Page Six]
MEANWHILE, IN DENMARK: QUEEN MARGRETHE II of Denmark announced her abdication in a televised New Year's address, effective January 14 – marking the 52nd anniversary of her ascension to the throne.
Her son, Crown Prince Frederik, will take over at that time. Margrethe is the world’s only reigning queen and longest-serving current monarch in Europe. [via BBC]
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DAY OF THE YEAR
JRR Tolkien Day
Humiliation Day
Women Rock! Day
International Mind-Body Wellness Day
Festival of Sleep Day
National Drinking Straw Day
National Fruitcake Toss Day
National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
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ON THIS DATE
1521 - Pope Leo kicks Martin Luther out of the Church officially.
The papal bull named "Decet Romanum Pontificem" officially excommunicated Luther, who was a rogue monk speaking out against corrupt church practices.
Though many higher-ups in the church wanted Luther killed, Germanic princes went out of their way to protect him, in order to further weaken the power of the church.
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1861 - Delaware turns down a proposal to secede from the Union.
South Carolina was the first, two weeks prior.
While Delaware did allow slavery, it was not common.
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1868 - A group of samurai overthrow the feudal lords ruling Japan, and help restore an emperor to the throne.
There had been a line of succession, but the royal Japanese family did not have any significant power. With the end of the feudal system, Japan began to boom and joined the progress of the Western World.
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1924 - British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team uncover King Tut's sarcophagus.
The crew had discovered the tomb years earlier, near the tomb of King Ramses.
Tut's tomb was spread over four rooms and took four years to completely excavate.
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1952 - “Dragnet” debuts on primetime TV.
It started as a radio drama only three years earlier.
The show popularized Detective Friday's catchphrase, "Just the facts ma'am."
It was one of the first television cop dramas, and has spawned hundreds of others, from “Law & Order” to “CSI.”
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1993 - The Buffalo Bills mount the biggest comeback in NFL history.
By halftime, they were trailing the Houston Oilers 28-to-3.
At the start of the second half, the Oilers put in another touchdown.
But then the tide turned.
In the next six minutes, the Bills knocked in four touchdowns, closing their point deficit to 4. They took the lead on their next drive, after the Oilers bungled a field goal.
The Oilers managed to tie the game at the end, though. Finally, in OT, the Bills won on a field goal, coming back 32 points and then some in under 28 minutes.
The record would be broken in 2022 when the Vikings came back from a 33 point deficit to beat the Indianapolis Colts.
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2004 - Casey Kasem gives up his hosting gig at “America’s Top 40.”
The DJ had hosted the show for 30 years.
Ryan Seacrest took his seat.
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2018 - Lawyers for President Trump try to stop the publication of the book “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff.
The book, according to Wolff, details the behavior of Trump and the staff of his 2016 presidential campaign and White House.
The book became a New York Times number one bestseller.
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BIRTHDAYS
Greta Thunberg - activist - 21
Georgia Stanway - soccer player - 25
Florence Pugh - actress, “Midsommar” & “Little Women” - 28
Paddy Pimblett - MMA fighter - 29
Kevin Ware - basketball player - 31
Katie McGrath - actress, “Supergirl” & “Jurassic World” - 41
Eli Manning - football player - 43
Danica McKellar - actress, “Wonder Years” - 49
Michael Schumacher - race car driver - 55
Mel Gibson - actor, “Braveheart” & “Lethal Weapon” - 68
John Paul Jones - bassist, Led Zeppelin - 78
Born On This Date
Bobby Hull - HOF hockey player - 1939 (d. 2023)
J.R.R. Tolkien - novelist, “The Lord of the Rings” - 1892 (d. 1973)
Lucretia Mott - Quaker & women’s rights activist - 1793 (d. 1880)
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